So for readers of game of thrones am I the only one to see these characters as being remarkably similiar? Both are friends who are devoted and loyal despite being made fun of and ridiculed for being cowardly by others. Samwell stands by Jon even when he's moody and angry in the same way Sam stays with Frodo. Come to think of it, Jon and Frodo are similiar in many ways both being burdened by circumstances, (Jon's illegitimacy and Frodo and the ring.) Even the speech patterns of the characters are similar, they both speak in a more rural style accent vs Frodo and Jon. Just an observation.

samwell tarly is the legitimate son of a powerful lord of westeros (even though his father drove him to the night's watch). his speech pattern reflects that of the uppermost classes

personally, i don't see much of a similarity between the two. samwise gamgee was definitely respected among his peers (who ridicules him?) -- samwell tarly not so much, but has earned a grudging respect along the way. samwise gamgee has always shown a sort of courage, that only got stronger with every step of the way. samwell tarly originally came from more rabbit-ish instincts.

cheers --

; aka. fili orc-enshield +++++++++++++++++++ the scene, as i understand it, is exceptionally well-written. fili (in sort of a callback to the scene with the eagles), calls out "thorRIIIIIIN!!!" just as he sees the pale orc veer in for the kill. he picks up the severed arm of an orc which is lying on the ground, swings it up in desperation, effectively blocking the pale orc's blow. and thus, forever after, fili is known as "fili orc-enshield."

this earns him deep respect from his hard-to-please uncle. as well as a hug. kili wipes his boots on the pale orc's glory box. -- maciliel telpemairo

but I certainly see similarities (even in the names). Earlier someone mentioned that each of their status was completely different from one another and that's true, but they each had to overcome those social stigmas. Samwell has proven (so far in the series) that title doesn't mean much because even a legitimate son can be hated by his father. This was a personal contrast to Jon, his best friend, who is a bastard but was loved by his "father" enough to be brought back to Winterfell and bear the shame from his wife about his indiscretion. Samwise came from a lower class and still stood before the people of Middle-earth at Minas Tirith, hailed as a hero for his role in the events. Neither character is fond of praise, they are both very humble but fierce when it is required of them. I think there are plenty of similarities that we can find and they are both very strong side characters. Even "side" isn't a polite word because Frodo would not have gotten far without Sam, and Jon would not have gotten far without his Sam either. "The Road goes ever on..."

George R.R. Martin has stated that he is a big fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, in which main character Frodo Baggins' best friend is Samwise Gamgee, called Sam for short. Similarly, Jon Snow's best friend Samwell Tarly (also called "Sam" for short) is also an overweight, not martially skilled Everyman character who enjoys reading stories in books. Moreover, Pypar (called Pyp) for short, has a similar name to Frodo's other companion Pippin Took (sometimes shortened to "Pip"). Thus both Jon Snow and Frodo Baggins have two companions named "Sam and Pyp".